The importance of increasing the planting of vegetables, tobacco and fruit in the fertile fields of Artemisa, to satisfy the province’s growing demand and that of the capital, was emphasized by José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, during a tour of several cooperatives here.
Joining him were Gladys Martínez Verdecia, member of the Central Committee and first secretary of the Party in the province, as well as authorities from the government, the Agricultural and Forestry Enterprise Group, and the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP).
At the “San Juan El Brujo” fruit farm, in the municipality of Artemisa, Machado Ventura spoke with Osmany Cordero Alfonso, avocado exporter and the area’s best coffee producer, who heads the Antero Regalado Cooperative, which has a mini-processing plant, greenhouses, a juicer and packing house.
"All the land here is planted," reported Armando Trujillo González, administrator of the “Felipe Herrera” tobacco cooperative, in Alquízar. Yields of 1.5 tons per hectare, and 0.5 in the case of export quality leaves, have been achieved, along with significant production of plantain, cassava, taro, beans and corn for seed, in conjunction with the Grain Research Institute.
Machado Ventura visited other tobacco and bean producers, as well as the “Santa Ana” farm, where Julián Leal Muñoz grows habanero chiles for export. He discussed using cassava leaf as animal feed with workers at in the “Batalla de las Guásimas” cooperative.
Machado Ventura insisted on the need to guarantee quality living conditions for agricultural workers coming from the east of the country, recalling that they are essential during peak harvest periods; and discussed the importance of increasing the use of science and technology to achieve higher agricultural yields in the province.
